Stoker for furnaces



May 14, 1935. G. w. oLNr-:Y`

STOKER FOR FURNACES Filed April 5, 19:50"

2 Sheets-Sheet l lMany 14, 1935. l G. w. oLNl-:Y 2,001,152

STOKER FOR FURNAGES Filed April 5, 1930 2 Sheets-$11601', 2

In Ven for.' George W Olney.

Patented May 14, 1935 UNITED STATES vPMENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to stokers for furnaces, and an object of the invention in general is to provide a device which will function to distribute fuel such as coal uniformly over the grate surface of a. furnace. Another Objectis to provide a device which may be adjusted to increase the supply of fuel to a portion of the grate sur'- faoe in case such portion of the surface is not receiving its proper share of the fuel. Another object is to provide a device which will operate as an over-feed device to throw the proper share of fuel back upon the rear portion of the grate surface and thus prevent piling up of the fuel upon the forward portion of such surface.

In carrying out my invention, I mount a rotor adjacent the lower portion of the charging opening of the furnace and rotate this rotor in such direction that its upper portion moves toward the charging opening. I have discovered that when the rotor is turned in the manner just stated, it throws the proper share of fuel into the rear portion of the furnace and produces a much better and more equal distribution of the fuel than is the case when a rotor is mounted adjacent the upper portion of the charging opening and rotated in suchv manner that its lower portion moves toward the charging opening.

In order to obtain equal distribution of the fuel laterally over the grate surface, I prefer to provide the rotor with a series of teeth which instead of extending in a. straight line along the rotor, are so constructed that the edge of each tooth inclines rearwardly with regard to the furnace at both sides of the middle point of the tooth when any particular tooth during the rotation of the rotor is at the upper portion of the rotor in which position said tooth starts toghrow the fuel into the furnace. On account of this construction of teeth, the tooth which is just ahead of the one which is in uppermost position will have its contiguous surface outwardly and downwardly inclined in both directions from the middle point 'so that the fuel during the initiation of the throwing movement will engage these inclines with the result that the proper share of the fuel which is being thrown into the furnace'will be distributed laterally at both sides from ay median vertical plane extending through the furnace.

A further object is to provide adjustable means by which the fuel may be thrown for greater or lesser distances into the furnace. Such means will not only provide proper adjustment for any particular furnace, but will accommodate the Stoker for grate surfaces which are longer or shorter.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel features of my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims,

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment of my invention, Fig. 1 is a view of the stoker in central Vertical section applied to a furnace which is shown in vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a view in horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a -view in vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a toothed member of a rotor. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a supporting member.

Referring to the construction shown in the drawings, the numeral lll designates the grate surface of a furnace which has a. charging open- 20 ing l2 at the front end thereof. Outside of the opening l2, there are supports it which carry bearings i6 and I8 for the shaft 2l) of a rotor which may be driven from any suitable source of power. The bearings i6 and I3 are so placed that the rotor is located adjacent the lower portion of the charging opening. Except for convenience in manufacture, the vrotor and shaft l might be made integral. As shown, the rotor includes four castings 22 one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 5. Two of these castings are placed together and keyed to the shaft inwardly from the bearing i6 while the other two are placed together and keyed to the shaft inwardly from the bearing I8, the manner in which they u are placed together on the shaft being shown in Fig. 1. The castings 22 constitute supports for toothed members of the rotor and for this purpose are provided with lugs 24 upon which rest toothed members 26 of the rotor. There are four of these toothed members each of which is provided with two teeth 28 as best shown in Fig.- 4. 'Ihe manner in which the toothed members 26 t upon the lugs 2d of the supports 22 will be understood from Fig. 1 in which it will be seen that the members 26 are held in place and the members 22 are held together by bolts 30 passing through pairs of lugs 24 and through the members 2E. By referring to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the edges of the teeth 28 instead of extending in a straight line along the rotor, incline rearwardly at both sides of the middle point of each tooth when the particular tooth is at the upper portion of the rotor. The purpose of this inclination is to cause the fuel to be spread laterally.

The supports I4 on their inner sides and as shown in Fig. 2 carry disks 32 against which the ends of the toothed members 26 abut. The lower portion of the rotor is enclosed in a substantially semi-cylindrical casing consisting of two curved members 34 and 36. 'Ihe member 34 has an outwardly offset portion 38 at one side which is adapted to overlap more or less the adjacent portion of the member 36. The curved member fili merges into a vertical member 40, the upper end of which is-joined to a horizontal member t2 extending rearwardly at a right angle. The ends of the member i2 have downturned flanges it for attachment to the supports it, while the center of the member i2 has a downwardly extending lug ili. The stem i8 of a block 5t! passes through the lug it and is held rotatably by a collar 52 secured on the end of the stem. The member Stil is provided with a forwardly extending lug Eli through which passes the stem- 5t of a block 53, this stem being held rotatably in the lug 543 by a collar @il secured on its end. A vertical bolt t2 is threaded at its lower portion through the block 58, while the upper end of this bolt passes through the block 50 and is held rotatably therein by collars St and te secured respectively to the bolt above and below the block 5i). It is now obvious that by turning the bolt S2 in one direction or the other, the rear edge of the curved member 34 will be moved up or down. The ends of the member 34 rest upon the periphery of the disks 32 so that this member is guided thereby during its rotative movement. The rear edge of the member 34 is provided with recesses for receiving lugs 68 extending. down from a plate 10 which may be given a more or less inclined position by the adjustment of the member 34 just referred to.

A horizontal passage 12 leads into the space above the rotor, the bottom of this passage being constituted by a plate 14 which is held in spaced relation above the horizontal member 42. The forward end of the plate 14 is curved upwardly and joined to the forward portion of the lower end of a hopper 16 which is supplied with fuel such as coal in any suitable manner. The top of the passage 12 is constituted by a horizontal plate 18 the rear end of which is joined with the rear portion of the lower end of the hopper 16. The plate 18 contains an opening 80 controlled by a slide 82 which when opened permits access to the passage 12. A slide 84 is placed between the spaced members 42 and 14, this slide having a forwardly extending centrally disposed arm 86 providedwith a slot 88 through which a bolt 89 passesfor securing the slide 84 in adjusted position. A door for the furnace wall below the rotor provides for charging the furnace manually if desired.

The operation and advantages of my invention have to a large extent already been indicated. Due to the fact that the teeth 28 are so constructed that the edge of each tooth of the rotor inclines rearwardly at both sides of the middle point of the tooth when any particular tooth during the rotation of the rotor is at the upper portion thereof, the surfaces of the two teeth which engage the fuelduring the throwing operation thereof are positioned substantially in the manner shown in Fig. 4. As indicated by arrows, the two portions of the forward face of the upper tooth 28 incline upwardly to the middle point while the two portions of the rear face of the tooth which is just ahead of said tooth inoline downwardly from the middle point. The upper tooth initiates the throwing movement of the fuel, and the engagement of the fuel with the inclined portions of the next tooth causes the fuel to be spread out so that it is distributed laterally over the grate surface. By referring to Fig. 1, it will be understood that the further from the furnace the slide 84 is set, the further back into the furnace the fuel will be thrown. It will also be understood from this figure that in the proportion that the plate 'l0 is given a greater inclination, more fuel will be allowed to drop upon the forward portion of the grate surface. By properly adjusting the parts referred to, the fuel may be distributed substantially uniformly over the entire grate surface.

l. A Stoker for furnaces comprising a casing forming a charging opening and a hopper and cooperating means adapted to discharge coal in a horizontal plane substantially midway of the height of said opening at a, point remote therefrom, a rotor having its axis in a horizontal plane extending approximately through the bottom of said opening and in a vertical plane close to said opening and toward it from the points of discharge of coal from said cooperating means more remote from said opening, said rotor embodying an inner portion more than half the diameter of the paths of the outer limits of its beaters, and having not less than six beaters projecting therefrom throughout the length thereof and relatively positloned so that adjacent beaters cooperate in forwarding the coal from the point of discharge from said cooperating means, means for revolving the rotor so the parts thereof adjacent said point of discharge are moved up-l wardly towardsand pass under and near the horizontal plane of the cooperating means forming said point of discharge, and means for retracting or extending said cooperating means along said horizontal plane across substantially the whole diametrical extent of said rotor, whereby the coal will be thrown up and scattered more or less along said grate.

2. A Stoker for furnaces comprising a casing forming a charging opening and a hopper and cooperating means adapted to discharge coal in a horizontal plane substantially midway of the height of said opening at a point remote therefrom, a rotor having its axis in a horizontal plane extending approximately through the bottom of said opening and in a vertical plane close to said opening and toward it from the point of discharge of coal from said cooperating means more remote from said opening, said rotor embodying an inner portion more than half the diameter of the paths of the outer limits of its beaters, and having not less than six beaters projecting therefrom throughout the length thereof and relatively positioned so that adjacent beaters cooperate in forwarding the coal from the point of discharge from said cooperating means, means for revolving the rotor so the parts thereof adjacent said point of discharge are moved upwardly and pass under and near the horizontal plane of the cooperating means forming said point of discharge, said cooperating means comprising a board movable in or out along said horizontal plane above the rotor to retract or extend said point of discharge whereby the coal will be thrown up and scattered more or less along said grate.

3. In a stoker for furnaces embodying means for delivering and discharging coal in a horic 2,001,152 `zontaI plane, a rotor operative below the point of discharge from said means embodying an inner portion more than half the diameter of the paths of the outer limits of its beaters, and provided with a multiplicity of beaters positioned along the longitudinal extent of said inner portion each having an active face with portions diverging from the center of the rotor toward its ends in planes out of the axis of said rotor, the number of said beaters being such that each beater and the active face thereof cooperates 'with the rear face of the beater ahead of it in moving the coal, and means for revolving the rotor so said'activefaces move upwardly toward\ and passunder and near the line of discharge from said delivering and discharging means.

4. In a stoker for furnaces embodying means for delivering and discharging coal in a horizontal plane, a rotor operative below the point of discharge from said means embodying an inner portion more than half the diameter of the paths of the outer limits of the beaters, and provided with a multiplicity of beaters positioned along the longitudinal extent of Asaid inner portion each having an active face with portions diverging from the center of the rotor towards its ends in planes out o! the axis of said rotor, there being not less than six of said beaters positioned so that each beater and the active face thereofcooperates with the beater ahead of it in moving the coal, and means for revolving the rotor so said active faces move upwardly toward and pass under and near the line of discharge from said delivering and discharging means.

5. A stoker for furnaces comprising a casing forming a charging opening and a hopper and having a point of discharge spaced from said opening, a xed feed table forming a horizontal extension at the bottom of said hopper, a rotor having its axis in a horizontal plane extending approximately through the bottom of said charging opening and in a vertical plane close to said opening and toward it from the points of discharge of coal from said table, means for revolving the rotor so that parts thereof move upwardly toward and pass under and near the points ofdischarge from said table, and a slide extending along the underside of said table and adapted to be adjusted so that its edge will project beyond the edge of the feed table and will overlie any desired point across substantially the whole diametrical extent of said rotor, whereby the coal will be thrown up and scattered more or less along said grate.

GEORGE W. OLNEY. 

